1. Field
Embodiments of the invention relate to encryption of security-sensitive data.
2. Description of the Related Art
When a client computer needs data from a server computer, a connection is established between the client computer and the server computer. Encrypted data may be sent over the connection.
When a data stream contains a portion of security-sensitive data, the data stream may be encrypted before being transmitted from a first computer system to a second computer system. With currently available solutions, such as Secure Socket Layer (SSL), the entire data stream that is being transmitted is encrypted at the first computer system. Then, the second computer system decrypts the entire data stream. Thus, in conventional solutions, the entire data stream is encrypted, although only a portion of the data stream may contain security-sensitive information. In many situations, the entire data stream is much larger than the portion of the data stream that is security-sensitive. Therefore, performance is affected when the entire data stream is encrypted and decrypted. In light of this, there is a need in the art for improved encryption of a data stream.